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Thursday, September 25, 2008

My weekly story for The Tennis Recruiting Network really isn't a story at all, but nine photos with captions that are the work of Reka Zsilinszka, now a sophomore at Duke. She wrote a diary during her trip to Vietnam this summer for the Coach for College initiative, and excerpts from that diary will appear in the next issue of SMASH, due out in November. It's been a real treat to talk with Reka about her experience there and it sounds as if the adventure was all she had hoped for. ESPN.com did a story about Parker Goyer and Coach For College in July; it is truly amazing what she has been able to accomplish. Making a vision a reality is never easy, but Goyer is an inspiration to anyone who has a dream to make the world a better place.

The persistent rain in Mexico has hindered the Junior Davis and Fed Cups being played there. Today, neither the U.S. boys or girls took the court (against Sweden and Serbia respectively) for the matches that will determine the semifinalists. Both the U.S. teams are 2-0 and must win to advance to the semifinals.

The campaign to keep 14-year-old Wimbledon junior champion Laura Robson out of the spotlight while she and her game mature lasted all of two months. She played her first ITF Women's Circuit event last week, a $10,000 event in France, qualified and won her first match before retiring in her second one. This week she is back home in England, received a wild card into the $75,000 tournament in Shrewsbury and beat Great Britain's No. 8, 29-year-old Sarah Borwell in the first round, who was very impressed. Today, the current girls Wimbledon champion battled the previous one, Urszula Radwanska of Poland, with Robson taking a 6-3, 6-3 decision over the WTA's 128th-ranked player. The Telegraphpublished this account, which focuses on the unlikely scenario of Radwanska feeling old at 17. Neil Harman of the Times contrasts Robson with Jennifer Capriati, who made a very much bigger splash at an even younger age, in this article, which will appear in Friday's print edition.